Hearthstone's Kobolds and Catacombs patch is here ahead of its launch, includes new card backs

Blizzard has uploaded a new Hearthstone patch ahead of the Kobolds and Catacombs expansion.

You won't be able to access any of the new Kobolds and Catacombs cards until Dec. 7, but the update is there. Likewise, a whole bunch of new card backs were added, some of which are connected to the new expansion, but some that aren't. Azeroth is Burning is acquired through a special promotion, Catacomber is acquired from getting to rank 20 in Ranked Play in December 2017, and Frostfire is acquired from getting to rank 20 in Ranked Play in January 2018.

A couple of UI changes make Hearthstone a bit more user friendly, too.

As for the Arena, Blizzard's made a few adjustments there as well. Arena draft appearance rates have been adjusted. "As part of our ongoing efforts to improve Class balance in the Arena, we are making small, periodic appearance rate adjustments to specific Arena cards," Blizzard said in the patch notes.

Kobolds and Catacombs is almost here. The expansion unlocks Dec. 7, and players will be able to preorder it until 11:59pm PT on Dec. 6. The pre-purchase bundle includes 50 card packs at a special price, as well as a new card back.